The Queen of Diamonds

by Jean Plaidy

The affair of the Diamond Necklace shook the throne of France and, some say, precipitated the French Revolution and so helped to bring Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to the guillotine. But why did these fantastic and ultimately sensational events fail so neatly into place? Why should a prince of the Royal House of France become so credulous and without question play the almost incredible part prepared for him? Why was an ambitious and predatory woman allowed to steal that famous piece of jewellery that represented a fortune? Who were the secret instigators of the plot? In this novel Jean Plaidy offers one solution to an historical mystery, the motives behind which have long puzzled students and amateur detectives of history.

Genres: Historical Fiction, 18th Century, Historical, France

253 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1958

About the author

Eleanor Alice Burford, Mrs. George Percival Hibbert was a British author of about 200 historical novels, most of them under the pen name Jean Plaidy which had sold 14 million copies by the time of her death. She chose to use various names because of the differences in subject matter between her books; the best-known, apart from Plaidy, are Victoria Holt (56 million) and Philippa Carr (3 million). Lesser known were the novels Hibbert published under her maiden name Eleanor Burford, or the pseudonyms of Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow and Ellalice Tate. Many of her readers under one penname never suspected her other identities.
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Amalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jean Plaidy is a skilful superb storyteller. Her historical fictions are wonderful, She pays much attention to the authenticity of historical facts like no other writer.

“The Queen of Diamonds” is set in 18th Century Paris. The story revolves around the the historical mystery of the Diamond Necklace scandal apparently commissioned for Marie Antoinette, which helped to bring both her and King Louis XVI to the guillotine with the eruption of the French Revolution.

Plaidy tries to offer a solution to this historical mystery: the complex conspiracy involving Cardinal de Rohan, Countess Jeanne de Valois, and the infamous Comte de Cagliostro.

Each character in the story is complex with his or her personal agenda in mind. This is a great historical mystery I’ve read of Jean Plaidy. It was enjoyable to read.

[Ryan Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

this one is for conspiracy theorists; a novel so grappling you can't put it down until the next page, which will turn into another. One of my favourites by this writer.